Redemption on the River

Nov 19, 2012 Once Upon rated it 2 of 5 stars

I feel really bad at giving this book a 2. I have read so many reviews on this book and everybody that wrote a review says they loved the book. I had a hard time getting into the book. It started out really really good and then it took a lot of turns that I didn't like in the story. I am not a real history buff so I probably didn't like it because of not liking history. I put the book down quite a few times and tried to read more of it. But couldn't do it. The main character Silas Jacobson ended...more

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Nov 23, 2012 Deb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

Redemption on the River is a first novel by author Loren DeShon. It's got some weaknesses but overall I really enjoyed it. It takes place along the Mississippi River from Missouri to New Orleans in 1848. This is one of those historical novels that really tries to expose you to details you might not have known about - the story describes life on a steamboat, gambling, and the Underground Railroad, and includes a number of not-so-well-known historical figures on the 1800's South. DeShon does a nic...more Redemption on the River is a first novel by author Loren DeShon. It's got some weaknesses but overall I really enjoyed it. It takes place along the Mississippi River from Missouri to New Orleans in 1848. This is one of those historical novels that really tries to expose you to details you might not have known about - the story describes life on a steamboat, gambling, and the Underground Railroad, and includes a number of not-so-well-known historical figures on the 1800's South. DeShon does a nice job of creating atmosphere and setting, as well as a compelling story.

Silas Jacobsen lives on a family farm in Missouri when he accidentally causes the death of his father. He signs over his rights to the farm to his younger brother and sister and heads out without any kind of plan. Silas' life changes when he meets a woman whose family is helping slaves escape on the Underground Railroad.

Silas may not be the most relatable character for a lot of readers - he makes a lot of poor decisions, he's not book smart, and he loves to punch people. He's kind of a guy's guy. He has no trouble having sex with prostitutes or drinking away whatever money is in his pocket, and he also has no trouble floating up and down the river doing odd jobs while his brother and sister manage the family farm.

But I like a main character who isn't perfect, and Silas learns a lot during the course of this book. He starts out knowing that his father didn't support slavery but really has no idea what it means to enslave other human beings until he sees it for himself. And even then he has to learn how to stand up for what's right and have a real impact, rather than taking impulsive risks.

DeShon imparts a ton of historical detail while also telling a fast-moving, entertaining story. I liked how the book gave me a good idea of how the Underground Railroad actually worked, as opposed to just knowing what it is.

The dialogue in the book was not as well-written as the description. I often found the conversations between the characters a little stilted. There was something distracting about it that kept me from fully enjoying the book. For example, Silas' conversations with Hannah mostly consist of her yelling at him about slavery issues. His conversations with his siblings seemed forced. When dialogue is well-written, you don't notice it, and in this book I did. I can't explain why exactly.

All in all, a book worth reading for its history and drama, and a nice first novel by DeShon. (less)

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Oct 30, 2012 Literary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Kathy's Review:

From the opening lines of this story, I let the tale sweep me away like the currents on the Mississippi River. Silas is an intriguing character who has his vices. But deep down, he wants to help his family and erase some of the guilt he feels for his father's death. I loved the descriptions of the towns along the Mississippi, including New Orleans and St. Louis, in the late 1800's. Normally I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction, but the writing is so engaging that I forgot my b...more

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Sep 06, 2012 Jacob rated it 5 of 5 stars

Honestly, I don't know where to begin. This book is very well written, is lacking nowhere, and really packs a punch. The author is obviously well researched, and paints a vivid picture of the US's time of turmoil pre-Civil War. We follow our protagonist through a roller-coaster saga of fighting, gambling, cathouses, and love. It's not all fun and games though, as the the author explores some deep moral issues regarding slavery and prejudice. The polish on this book, and depth of the story belies...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Lainy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 4 days

Blurb From Goodreads

Silas Jacobson pulled a trigger, killed his father, and ended up months later face down in Memphis mud, trying to forget the girl who betrayed him.

Silas buries his father on the farm, his guilt in himself and leaves home seeking to forget past mistakes. He travels on Mississippi steamboats and meets his best friend in a brawl, his worst enemy in a cathouse, and a mentor and lover at a New Orleans faro table. Fighting, fornicating, and cheating at ca...more Time Taken To Read - 4 days

Blurb From Goodreads

Silas Jacobson pulled a trigger, killed his father, and ended up months later face down in Memphis mud, trying to forget the girl who betrayed him.

Silas buries his father on the farm, his guilt in himself and leaves home seeking to forget past mistakes. He travels on Mississippi steamboats and meets his best friend in a brawl, his worst enemy in a cathouse, and a mentor and lover at a New Orleans faro table. Fighting, fornicating, and cheating at cards are a grand time, but there's another woman, a girl on a mission of her own, who saves his life and offers the opportunity to redeem himself.

Silas staggers out of the mud to go to her, but he finds that she's deceived him from the start. He'll risk his neck for her—he owes her that much—but love is no longer possible. His shot at redemption comes down to his conscience, the two women, a poker game, and the turn of a card.

Redemption on the River is historical fiction set along the Mississippi River in 1848.

My Review

Silas has just killed his father and abandoned his family and his responsibilities. He wants to forget his past and find pastures new. Along the way he meets a new best friend, some ladies of the night, murderers, gamblers and some hustlers. Outside of the family home is a whole new world, where Silas has to learn to adapt, think on his feet and use all his brains and brawn just to stay alive. It is a journey of self discovery, and education on slavery, honour, love and what it is like to live as a slave and what they endure.

I got off on a bad footing with this story as once I read the first line "The day I killed my father began like any other on our farm in northwest Missouri". I had already made up my mind how it happened and the idea of what the story was going to be like, it was the total opposite and it took me a while to let go of what I wanted and thought it would be. Go into it with an open mind as you will enjoy the story so much more. Silas is the main character and I went from hating him, to liking him, to hating him, to liking him again. It is a story that moves you with the plight of the slaves and the education Silas gets and the growth and strength of his character (along with his weaknesses and bad attributes).

The main story is split between slavery and racism in the time period when it was considered normal and people where just beginning to (not all of them) realize how wrong it and immoral it is. It also is about a young mans journey from being a boy doing his duty at home to a journey of escape from a horrific time and self discovery to becoming a man with morals and thinking about more than himself. There is a lot to this story and I think people will take different things from it, love and hate it pending on what they can relate to and what it evokes in them. A thought provoking read with many aspects to it and I believe everyone can enjoy something from it, a well told tale and a respectful 3/5 for me. Thank you so much to the author for giving me the opportunity to read and review their work and I would read something by this author again.(less)

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Oct 29, 2012 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, fiction, historical-fiction

This book takes us on the mighty Mississippi River during the mid-1800s (specifically the 1840s), from St. Joseph to St. Louis, all the way down to New Orleans. This is not a time period that I am very familiar with. The area is still struggling with a lot of issues, including abolition. The air is politically charged. I actually did not realize that efforts to abolish slavery had started so early. I love Historical Fiction that can open my eyes to new time periods and this one did just that for...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Candace rated it 5 of 5 stars

This isn't the sort of book you normally see reviewed on my blog, but I grew up reading my dads Westerns and have a soft spot for them. While this is of a different tone (sort of) from them, it was just as enjoyable. As I haven't read an actual Western since I was a teen, I wasn't sure what I would think of this one. It turned out that this was exactly the sort of book I'd been craving!

The book started out good, I liked it well enough, but it wasn't until a little further in (maybe 50 pages or...more This isn't the sort of book you normally see reviewed on my blog, but I grew up reading my dads Westerns and have a soft spot for them. While this is of a different tone (sort of) from them, it was just as enjoyable. As I haven't read an actual Western since I was a teen, I wasn't sure what I would think of this one. It turned out that this was exactly the sort of book I'd been craving!

The book started out good, I liked it well enough, but it wasn't until a little further in (maybe 50 pages or so) that I really started loving it. The one thing that really stood out to me was the authors accuracy with the southern accent mixed with the words of the time. I guess what I mean is, he has excellent dialogue skills. I have noticed more and more with books (indie books in particular) that dialogue doesn't always come across right. It is easily over the top and it just shoots you right out of the flow of the story. Loren DeShon though, did excellent. There were a few moments that I felt were a bit much, but for the most part all the dialogue was brilliant. However, while I LOVED it, I can see how others would have trouble with it. With incorporating the accent we get words like 'suh' (sir) and ah (I). I loved this, but maybe not everyone will. One thing that really puts me into a time period is when authors incorporate the right sort of language and this book most definitely had that! Keep in mind that the main character did not have this accent, it was just from those he encountered from the deep south. So it's definitely not a constant thing.

Silas is a character that brings out some complex and mixed feelings. And for me that was a positive. It got me more emotionally involved. Silas is very naive but headstrong and bold. He's also a fighter who doesn't hesitate to throw the first punch. For this we want to smack some sense into him because he's very good at making very bad decisions. But at the same time we see some glimpses of the good in him. As his conscious occasionally butts in and he hesitates in things and we know he knows that it's not a good idea to do something. But the temptations of money and of the flesh are just too much for him to resist. This weakness in him provides us with plenty to see of his growth as he starts to realize what an idiot he is and what changes he ought to be making. As the story continues we see this growth in him SO much. While sometimes he falls off the wagon a bit he's still moving forward in his redemption and finding what's really important. Slavery and the Underground Railroad play an important part in his story as he sees things with new eyes after encountering so much slavery on his travels and seeing the horrible things that the owners do to them. He also encounters a young lady who really inspires change in him as he can't seem to forget it her or get her out of his head.

I want to comment on the authors brilliance in creating colorful characters. I really felt like they had very distinct personalities and they were very bold and there. They had presence. Now, I'm mostly thinking of the main side characters, the ones that Silas spends time with, but pretty much everyone has a distinctness about them.

The book takes place up and down the Mississippi River in 1848. On ships and in the cities along the river. Because of this we see many of the same people show up over and over again and at times this was slightly confusing. As Silas says things like "my old friend from..." and we have to struggle to remember which 'friend' this is. But as the scene continues on and dialogue is exchanged it was usually easy to remember this particular person. (Who, by the way, was usually NOT a friend as Silas did a fantastic job at making enemies...) This was an issue that cleared up by the second half as all these characters had been mentioned enough it was easy to keep them straight.

This is an adult book, for sure. But Silas is young (I think maybe around 20?). For this reason I think older teens or new adults would enjoy it. However, it is a strong historical book filled with lots of sub-plots and extensive scenes of gambling (which I sometimes found boring since I know nothing about it). I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction with American history. The author even incorporates real people into the story as well as real ships, real events, etc. But it's not a history lesson by any means. It's entertaining but for me it also was a good reminder of how we treat other humans. I think it's easy for us to sometimes think about the things that people have gone through in the past. How things were not so very long ago. And we need to remember it to keep it from happening again.

This is a book that will certainly stay with me and I can say it's definitely one of my favorite historical fictions for the year. I most definitely recommend you give this one a shot!

You can find this review and others like it on my blog at http://www.candacesbookblog.com
(less)

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Sep 30, 2012 Book Him Danno rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, books-sent-by-author-publisher-for

I picked this book up to give it a look and got absorbed in the story. I loved the characters and with the opening line you can’t helped but wonder what went wrong. The main character Silas needs to get away from home and find himself. He travels down the river meeting new and interesting characters along the way that shape him as a man. The people he meets leave a deep impression on him and how he sees the world in general. The ending brought a few tears to my eyes and I’m pleased with the endi...more

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May 16, 2013 Lynda Coker rated it 3 of 5 stars

This historical setting finds the main character, Silas Jacobson, working out his past, present, and future along the Mississippi River as he encounters new troubles and worrisome people. The time period added a lot of tension to this story and added many interesting facts and some insight to the issue of slavery and other political problems. While the story had a promising plot, for me it fell somewhat flat. Silas is a self-absorbed young man who for most of the book has no redeeming qualities...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Julie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-books

When Silas Jacobson's father dies, and he blames himself for his death, he heads to the Mississippi River to find himself. What he finds is a best friend, a couple of intriguing women, lots of gambling and tons of adventure. He also finds himself in the middle of the Underground Railroad.

Redemption on the River is Loren DeShon's debut novel, a work of historical fiction that takes us down the Mississippi in the mid-1800s. The historical aspects of the novel are fascinating. I learned so much abo...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Genevieve Graham rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, american-history, epic, favorites, fiction-historical, historic-fiction, historical-adventure, historical-fiction

This is my kind of book. “Redemption on the River” by Loren DeShon is rich with multidimensional characters, an exciting journey, and amazingly accurate, well-researched history. The historical facts aren’t blatant, aren’t set out in a list, aren’t the least bit dry. They are woven into the story with taste and finesse—more of a challenge for an author than you’d think! He writes beautifully, with an easy flow and natural dialogue. And the romance in “Redemption on the River”? Well, it’s exactly...more This is my kind of book. “Redemption on the River” by Loren DeShon is rich with multidimensional characters, an exciting journey, and amazingly accurate, well-researched history. The historical facts aren’t blatant, aren’t set out in a list, aren’t the least bit dry. They are woven into the story with taste and finesse—more of a challenge for an author than you’d think! He writes beautifully, with an easy flow and natural dialogue. And the romance in “Redemption on the River”? Well, it’s exactly right for this reviewer. I’m not the kind of reader who wants to know who will be with whom within the first chapter. Not even within the second. And I don’t care to read the bedroom nitty-gritty. I’d prefer to leave that to my imagination. In my humble opinion, sex is a by-product of romance, and not necessary in a book of this quality—in fact, it might even take away from the story—so I was glad DeShon let any sexual mentions “fade to black.” Romance itself has to simmer, build a foundation, have a reason, even. This book has all that and more.

Silas Jacobson starts out dealing with his own demons and the inability to help either himself or his loved ones because of his lack of maturity. He sets out on a journey which he believes will provide escape from guilt, grief, hopelessness, and instead is thrust into situations he never could have imagined, situations which help him understand and develop both integrity and strength within. I admit that in the beginning I found the story a little slow, but it picked up all of a sudden, and I was on the edge of my seat from that point on. I love the way DeShon takes Silas and the reader into worlds which seem completely separate from one another, but which come together beautifully in the end. His secondary characters are intriguing and help build the story instead of simply fading into the background.

At the end of the book, following a thorough section of Historical Notes, Mr DeShon attaches a note to readers, urging them to support authors and books they enjoy through word of mouth, and by leaving reviews on various sites like Amazon, etc. I will definitely be doing that, as well as posting his book on the “Books I Love” page on my website.(less)

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Jan 11, 2013 Annette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction-challenge-2013

Summary:
Silas Jacobson is a young man living with his father and younger sister and brother on a farm in western Missouri. The time period is 1848. The mother and a younger sister Sally died previously to the beginning of Redemption On The River. Silas and his brother work alongside their father toiling the farm, laboring to earn a living. Their father is a stoic and quiet man, his life has lost its joy and meaning after his wife died. A turning point came when the father suggests to his sons th...more Summary:
Silas Jacobson is a young man living with his father and younger sister and brother on a farm in western Missouri. The time period is 1848. The mother and a younger sister Sally died previously to the beginning of Redemption On The River. Silas and his brother work alongside their father toiling the farm, laboring to earn a living. Their father is a stoic and quiet man, his life has lost its joy and meaning after his wife died. A turning point came when the father suggests to his sons they go duck hunting. During this hunt the father is accidentally killed. What should have been a turning point in the relationship with his sons, becomes a turning point in the life of his family, as well as the ending for his own life. Silas struggles with the events of his father's death, he cannot bear the grief. Silas leaves the farm and life he's known, and begins a journey leading him to a riverboat on the Mississippi River, and to girl named Hannah.
Review:
Positive Points:

I love strong characters. They don't have to be likable, they can annoy me; but they must NOT be milky-toast. Silas is a young man, and typical of young men he is full of himself (bravado). He is charming, charismatic, handsome, mouthy, temperamental especially when his ego is bruised, unafraid of hard labor, engages in risky behavior, naive because of youth, energetic, and cares about his physical appearance.
There is a great attention to details in the story that gave me a perfect sensory view of the story. Whether it was the muddy waters of the river itself, or the farmland of Missouri, or a gambling house; both the background and the foreground (its characters) were all in vivid detail. For example on page 26, "The frayed black frock coat was draped over his heavily worn overalls, the legs of which were stuffed into an ancient pair of black stovepipe boots with leather so old it crackled when he moved. He had tied a dingy white handkerchief around his neck, perhaps to emulate a clergyman's collar, but the effect was spoiled because he had also used it on his bloody head and the result looked as if someone had bandaged an attempted throat-cutting. As for the wound itself, he had stopped the bleeding by applying a copious plaster of mud, and the sparse remnants of his hair stuck out at odd angles through the drying, flaking poultice."
There is a turning point in the story that to me was as significant as the death of Cyrus's father in the first few pages. This turning point is on pages 91-93, it is about 1/4 way into the story. This dramatic scene is like an emotional release of the main characters past, and it leads to the next stage in his life.
Historical notes are given in the back of the book. These definitions pertain to towns, gambling, historical people, figures of speech, and government acts for the nation during this time period.
Affects of slavery are seen through Silas's eyes. I was given a view of a slaves work on the river, riverboats, docks, towns along the Mississippi river, African culture, slave trading, Underground Railroad system, and a slave auction. The book also through its characters show the varying feelings of prejudice against the slave.
This is a self-published book from a new author. I have a pretty good eye for detail---finding no major errors. My only negative points are listed below.

Negative Points:

There were a few words used in the story that to me took away from the authenticity of it. For example: precocious, acquiesce, feint, verminous, cacophony, and copious. A couple of these words I had to reach for my dictionary to find the meaning. I do not believe the characters in this book---time period would have used these words.
There is a scene where a slave girl felt free enough and assertive enough to hug a white man and kiss his hand shortly after meeting him. I do not believe that during this time period a slave woman would feel "free enough" to be this demonstrative, even if he did rescue her, I just don't believe it.

Thank you to Loren DeShon for my free review copy in exchange for an honest review. (less)

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Apr 19, 2013 Leigh rated it 5 of 5 stars

Silas felt responsible for his father's death and leaves home to try and forget. He ends up on a Mississippi steam boat and meets the love of his life but realizes that she has a secret past and has deceived him. He will still risk his life for her. Silas grows a lot as a person throughout the story. He was raised on a farm that did not own or use slaves. Because of this he didn't realize how horrible being enslaved was until his travels and until he witnessed it.

This was a pretty long book at...more

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Dec 26, 2012 Page (One Book At A Time) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

I tend to gravitate to European historical fiction and can't say that I've read anything set on the Mississippi River. I was a little nervous about to be honest. And while I don't think it ranks into my top historical fiction reads, I still found it enjoyable.

Silas is actually quite selfish for a good portion of this book. He takes blame for his father's death and prior to that had felt trapped in his own life. When opportunity presents itself, he bails. I'm not sure what he thought he would fin...more I tend to gravitate to European historical fiction and can't say that I've read anything set on the Mississippi River. I was a little nervous about to be honest. And while I don't think it ranks into my top historical fiction reads, I still found it enjoyable.

Silas is actually quite selfish for a good portion of this book. He takes blame for his father's death and prior to that had felt trapped in his own life. When opportunity presents itself, he bails. I'm not sure what he thought he would find along the way, but it definitely taught him to grow up. It's a wonder really that he survives it all. He has a mouth that should get him into way more trouble than it does. He angers one of the richest southern men in the area. And he double crosses (basically anyway) one of the prolific dealers on the steamboats. He does make some friends in all the right places and has a small amount of whits that help keep him alive.

The slave trade discussed throughout this book didn't really surprise me. Offended...yes. It's absolutely deplorable that humans can treat another human that one. And this goes for today and much as then. I liked the little authors note on the story that inspired the character of Hannah. I had heard that it didn't matter how much "black" was in you. Once it was identified, you were slave material. The way it was presented didn't surprise me, but I was shocked at Silas' reaction. He kind of made me mad there. At that point, I had expected him to be a better person.

The funny thing is that I found that gambling in this book to be extremely intriguing. It never dawned on me that it was as crooked as it was. It makes me wonder how often dealers were actually caught doing this. When did it become legit? Or is there still some level of dishonesty in the game even in the best of places?

It took me awhile to get into the story and to read it. But, I'm glad I did. I learned a few things, and that's always something I like to take away from historical fiction.(less)

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Mar 26, 2013 Tracey rated it 4 of 5 stars

* From author for review *

Redemption on the River is set up and down the Mississippi River in 1848, and features Silas, our main character escaping dark problems on the farm at home and looking for redemption and a way to make things 'right'.

Silas learns how to gamble, use a knife, falls in love, makes a best friend - a giant of a man named one-ball - and all this against a background of slavery.

Big steamboats, big stakes at the faro gambling tables and lots of danger make Redemption on the Rive...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Charlotte Lynns Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

Silas Jacobson shoots a wasps nest, which of course, causes the wasps to attack. This causes the death of his father. With all the guilt he decides to leave the farm. He travels on the Mississippi River meeting many interesting people. Silas manages to get in brawls, visit cathouses, learn to gamble, and fall in love.

During Silas’ travels he meets a woman. This woman has a secret so deep and dark it would change everything if it was to be told. Silas has to make some tough decisions concerning...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Kendall Geneser rated it 5 of 5 stars

Tremendous! Epic in its scope, meticulously accurate. A thrilling adventure that manages to be "laugh out loud funny," and "blurry-eyed sad," in chapter one. That wild ride continues from beginning to end. I loved it and can't wait for the next one.

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Jan 11, 2013 ROMANTIC HISTORICAL REVIEW BLOG rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-frontier, heat-rating-mild-clean, romantic-historical-fiction

Reviewed by Genevieve Graham for Romantic Historical Lovers

http://romantichistoricallovers.wordp...

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Dec 13, 2012 Darlene Williams rated it 5 of 5 stars

Full review available at http://darleneelizabethwilliamsauthor...

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Oct 23, 2012 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is one of the best I've read in 2012. Highly recommend. Great writer, great characters, great plot.

I will rave about this more coming soon:
literaryrr.blogspot.com

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Jan 04, 2013 Helena marked it as to-read

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Nov 29, 2012 Veronique marked it as to-read

Nov 26, 2012 Burgandy Ice marked it as to-read

Nov 17, 2012 Kathryn Rottenberger marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Nov 14, 2012 The Chaotic Reader marked it as review-queue · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

Nov 12, 2012 Zoraida marked it as to-read

Dec 07, 2012 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Emily by: Jdfin

Nov 04, 2012 Suzanne marked it as maybe

Shelves: kindle-wish-list

Nov 03, 2012 Maxtrap rated it 5 of 5 stars

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